OFS Systems and National level With You

In a Feb. 16 webcast on BIFMA levelâ¢almost 80 percent of the audience said morecustomers are asking for green certification of wood manufacturing processes or products.

Three-quarters of those surveyed said they have no issues finding a consistent supply of green certified lumber raw materials; butabout 25 percent do have trouble.

Two of the largest business furnishings makers, OFS Systems and National Furniture, have made the levelâ¢ rating system a key part of their operation.

Last week Vanessa Hartke from OFS Systems, and Mendy Claridge from National Furniture, explained how level has become part of their companies' go-to-market strategy, and some of the internal impacts on production. Both presenters talked about and showed their factory floors.

The occasion was a Feb. 16 webcast panel (you can watch the recorded session on demand) which also included Tom Reardon, who heads the Business & Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Assn. International - the organization that established levelâ¢ in the first place.

Having moderated the one hour session I am a bit more enlightened on the function and value of levelâ¢ in the marketplace. It brings clarity to the buying community who, depending on their organization needs, must weigh the wide spectrum of green certification and gradation systems.

With levelâ¢ points are allocated for commodities such as wood and coating; and points are allocated for transportation and process; and a number of other criteria. It assigns a value to process and raw material in the product.There are three degrees of levelâ¢. And both Vannessa Hartke and Mendy Claridge discussed how the production process is affected by their firms' commitment to levelâ¢.

It is a complex subject, and Tom Reardon of BIFMA did a really good job distilling it for the presentation, which is free - and you can watch it right now. Tom presents the explanatory tables, talks about various green schemes, and al three presenters addressed live questions from the audience.

Bill's background includes more than 10 years in print manufacturing management, followed by more than 30 years in business reporting on industrial manufacturing in the forest products industries, including printing and packaging at American Printer (Features Editor) and Graphic Arts Monthly (Editor in Chief) magazines; and in secondary wood manufacturing for WoodworkingNetwork.com (Editorial Director).

In addition to his work as a journalist, Bill avidly supports efforts to expand and improve educational opportunities in the manufacturing sectors, including 10 years on the advisory board of the Print & Graphics Scholarship Foundation; six years with the U.S. WoodLinks educational organization; and currently with the Woodwork Career Alliance Education Committee, which supports educator scholarships, and develops high school and secondary school curricula in concert with efforts to certify manufacturing professionals skills standards. He is also on the Industry Advisory Board of the Greater West Town Training Partnership Woodworking Program, which has trained and place more than 950 adults in industrial in wood manufacturing careers through its award-winning grant-funded training program.

Bill volunteers for Foinse Research Station, a biological field station located at the heart of the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark in North West Ireland. Foinse Research Station is focused on providing a platform for third level and university level research in forests, woodlands, blanket bogs, geology, archaeology, speleology and hydrology. Foinse is one of more than 1,200 biological field stations around the globe and one of more than 200 members of the Organization of Biological Field Stations.